Self-quarantined GOP lawmaker says he’s ‘thinking about life and mortality’

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) said he’s been thinking about “life and mortality” after placing himself under self-quarantine upon learning that he had interacted with a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) attendee who has since been hospitalized with the novel form of coronavirus.

“Been thinking about life and mortality today. I’d rather die gloriously in battle than from a virus.  In a way it doesn’t matter,” Gosar tweeted on Monday afternoon. “But it kinda does.” 

The post also appeared to feature an image from the 2018 film “The Great Battle.” According to IMDB, the historical drama focuses on the “siege of Ansi Fortress” and the “eighty-eight day battle that Yang Man-chun and his Goguryeo troops fought against 500,000 invading Tang dynasty men to defend it.”

Been thinking about life and mortality today. I’d rather die gloriously in battle than from a virus. In a way it doesn’t matter. But it kinda does. pic.twitter.com/m6vU5RTQHJ

— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) March 9, 2020

The tweet from Gosar racked up more than 700 likes as of Monday afternoon and more than four times as many comments from Twitter users who seem puzzled by it. 

You’re a dentist

— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) March 9, 2020

Dude. You’re a dentist.

— MoreSkyPlease (@Moreskyplease) March 9, 2020

No you don’t.
If you did you would be in the military.

— RR Seattle (@RRalstonAgile) March 9, 2020

life comes at you fast, bro https://t.co/niD2h7MhhG

— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) March 9, 2020

Gosar joined Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Sunday in putting himself under self-quarantine after both Republicans interacted with an attendee at CPAC, which ran from Feb. 26 to Feb. 29 this year, who has since been hospitalized with COVID-19. 

At the time, Gosar said he and three members of his senior staff were “officially under self-quarantine” as a safety precaution, while also adding his office would be closed for the week. He added that, as of Sunday, he was “asymptomatic and [felt] great,” along with his staff.

The American Conservative Union (ACU) on Saturday announced that the CPAC attendee was later discovered to be infected with the virus. The group said the person had been exposed to the virus before the event. 

The group also said that President Trump and Vice President Pence had not made contact with the person. But ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp later said that he had interacted with the person before shaking the president’s hand at the conference.